If Everyone Cared About Naruto and Sasuke
by NeverLookBackSamurai
Summary: They were both in pain as children. They both found a family and friends in their team. They became the best of friends, hard as they tried not to admit it. Yet, they went separate ways. Would they ever be friends again? Oneshot


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any characters affiliated therewith. Neither do I own "If Everyone Cared" or any material relating to Nickelback in any way.

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**Dedicated to all those who seek true and everlasting peace in the world.**

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_From underneath the trees, we watch the sky  
Confusing stars for satellites  
I never dreamed that you'd be mine  
But here we are, we're here tonight_

_Singing Amen, I, I'm alive  
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive_

They'd passed each other as kids, unseeing and ignorant of the future. One, a prosperous child, born of an affluent clan with great chances in life. The other a complete misfit: an orphan despised and denied everywhere he went just because of what resided within him. Now they are older; hardships and loss have been and gone.

_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
If everyone loved and nobody lied  
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride  
Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

_And I'm singing_

_Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive  
Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive_

They joined the Ninja Academy, both hoping to make something of themselves. A brother who murdered his clan: the one he hoped to kill. The village leader: the goal he dreamed of achieving. Would they be able to reach their aspirations? Only time would tell…

_And in the air the fireflies  
Our only light in paradise  
We'll show the world they were wrong  
And teach them all to sing along_

_Singing Amen, I, I'm alive  
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive  
I'm alive_

At twelve, they became true shinobi. The girl and teacher assigned to them became their family and friends. They grew in strength, grew in compassion and eventually matured...

_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
If everyone loved and nobody lied  
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride  
Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

The two became the best of friends. Though try as they might not to say it aloud, as much as they differed in ability and personality, they could have been inseparable. Yet, one grew so desperate for the power his homeland could not give him. He fought and nearly killed his best friend for that power offered by a villain…

_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
If everyone loved and nobody lied  
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride  
Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

As he walked away, perhaps forever, the girl who loved him more than life itself begged him to stay. He knew she loved him, would do anything for him. But he couldn't let that make him stray from the path he chose.

"Thank you…" Those brief words he muttered before allowing her to sleep sealed his fate as he left his home behind…

_And as we lie beneath the stars  
We realize how small we are  
If they could love like you and me  
Imagine what the world could be_

When his teammates awoke, she was heartbroken, he regretful. They cried what seemed like endless tears, until there were no tears left to cry. What was done was done. Their teacher saw it all too late, the same as his students.

_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
If everyone loved and nobody lied  
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride  
Then we'd see the day when nobody died  
When nobody died..._

So life went on, like it always has, and the team grew up into young adults. Soon, the girl and boy were no longer student and teacher with their enigmatic leader. And that power-hungry boy came back, now a young man. The girl remembered him and was filled with sadness and contempt; the other boy looked at his former best friend as memories of better days flooded his mind as well as his eyes…

"What could have caused this?" the misfit thought. Then, he instantly knew:

_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
If everyone loved and nobody lied  
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride  
Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

Would Uchiha Sasuke ever truly come back? Would he renounce his status as a missing ninja and rejoin Konohagakure? Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi could only wait as time, like its twin, life, went on…

_We'd see the day, we'd see the day  
When nobody died  
We'd see the day, we'd see the day  
When nobody died  
We'd see the day when nobody died_

And then the former friends met each other again, when the whole village was asleep. They stood there, thinking to fight again like they did so long ago. Nay, they did not. For a long time they merely looked at each other, remembering and debating whether to just kill the other then and there. Eventually, they came to a silent assent, and they both simply turned…

…And walked away...


End file.
